The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1887-10-08
STORY OF A PET DEER.
The Mother Doe and Her Pretty
FaWu.

I6Wus
When l was about twelve years old.
father and mother lived in large, old
fashioned farmhouse, situated long
distance from the city, in beautiful
part Of the country. The vine-clad
hills down which small streams of
water wound. inclosed us in on every
side, and less than o mile off the tall
peak Of q mountain rose up nearly to
the sky.
The farmland which belonged to our
place was not all under cultivation.
and dense shades of forest were close
to our back door. Game both large
and small frequented these woods,
where they were seldom disturbed by
any human being. but were allowed to
roam about at liberty. Father was
not huntsman. and he would never
permit his friends, when visiting him,
to kill the poor, half-tame creatures
which made the woods near the farm
house their home. The sound Of gun,
think, was never heard within half .
mile of the woods while father owned
the place; and. as result of this, the
wild creatures soon became 80 tame
and gentle that they approached close
to our house in the dead of winter,
when food was scarce. and seemed to
plead for something to eat with their
soft, hazel eyes
My brother Jim and / would watch
them from the porch. and try to coax
them closer with soft, gentle words.
Our great ambition was to pat the head
of one of the sleek-looking deer, and
have him for playmate. just as we
had Towser, the dog. But the deer
were the widest creatures Of the forest
and it was seldom that one of them
approached nearer than three hundred
yards to the house. The rabbits and
squirrels would even run up on the
stoop and under the rose-bushes, and
make themselves so familiar that they
seemed more like pet kittens than wild
creatures. But the deer were very
different.
These creatures are 30 shy that the
very scent Of human being is often
sufficient to make them run away with
fear and seek the deepest rccesses in
the forest for hiding-place. When 1
think Of it, it seems strange that they
did not show more dread of our pres
ence on the farm. and shun our society
altogether. But attribute it more to
fathers kindness to the dumb creatures
than to any other cause. He would
place food regularly for them near the
edge Of the forest, where they could eat
it without coming entirely out of their
natural hiding-place. In the winter
time several of the pretty animals could
be seen near their feeding-place. dart
ing about gracefully over the snow, and
making themselves at home as much as
II they were thousands of miles from
any habitation. 1t was . sight, Just
before sunset on clear. cold, wintry
day, to make sportsman's heart leap
with joy. A well-directed shot from
the doorway Of the house could have
killed any one Of the playful creatures
before it hal time to get away.
The game in the woods several miles
to the south of US was being slaughtered
every season at an astonishing rate.
Huntsmen from the city came out in
parties, accompanied by their dogs,
and secured the woods for weeks at q
time, carrying back with them as tro-
phies the tails Of more than q dozen
foxes and squirrels, and probably the
hideof several deer. The country round
us soon became notorious among the
hunters. and every year the number of
sportsmen increased.
Father, with his sensitive feelings
concerning the wild animals, naturally
felt considerably exasperated at this,
and he placed signs in all prominent
places round hisfarn, warning all tres
passers of the land under penalty Of
the law. So strictly did he enforce the
right which the law gave him that the
guides and trappers in the vicinity
made 1t their first duty to warn q
stranger from the city not to chase the
game further than the edge of the
forest
The Wild animals seemed to take the
hint too, and they fiocked into the pro-
tected woods in great numbers. It was
the place Of refuge for them, and it did
not take them long to understand the
fact Many were the times when the
hunters had cause to use strong Lam
guage against father, as they saw their
game leap over the boundary line which
separated the lower country from his
farm; but wholesome fear Of the law
prevented them from puruuing the
game further.